<p>Heading into the 2024 season, the Toronto Blue Jays farm system was not ranking well across numerous sites related to prospect content and analytics. <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/farm-system-rankings">FanGraphs</a> had Toronto ranked at #23 in the league while<a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/farm-system-rankings-2024-preseason"> MLB Pipeline</a> had the Blue Jays at #24, with prospects Ricky Tiedemann, Orelvis Martinez, and Brandon Barriera leading the charge.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The Jays have leveraged some of their prospects in recent years for big leaguers, trading away the likes of Gunnar Hoglund, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Austin Martin, and Jordan Groshans amongst others in an attempt to bolster the big league squad for postseason contention year after year. Those trades have not yielded a playoff win as the front office has used this depth to try to bring a postseason win back to Toronto.</p>
<p>Looking back in the history books, the Blue Jays&#8217; draft record under Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro has been spotty at best, finding some gems amongst the group while some top prospects under their guise have not carved out big league roles whether in Toronto or with other clubs across the league. The same goes for former general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who had his own troubles even signing highly drafted players but found a few diamonds in the rough like Danny Jansen and others.</p>
<p>In this article, we will take a quick trip down memory lane to see where some former top prospects are suiting up this season. This won&#8217;t include every top prospect but there will be some familiar names spanning both under Anthopoulos and Atkins.</p>
<h2>Anthony Alford &#8211; OF</h2>
<p>A former third-round pick of the Blue Jays back in 2012, outfielder Anthony Alford is still suiting up at 29 years old. Through four seasons with the Blue Jays, Alford appeared in 46 games and posted a .454 OPS before DFA&#8217;d by the Jays in 2020, later being picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates.</p>
<p>Entering the 2024 season, Alford joined the Cincinnati Reds on a MiLB deal after spending the past two campaigns overseas in Korea with the KT Wiz. After 12 games, he was released by the Chattanooga Lookouts and most recently signed with the Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican League.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="es" dir="ltr">Welcome Anthony Alford! 🏴‍☠️👏🏼</p>
<p>💥 Jardinero de 29 años<br />🇺🇸 Experiencia de 6 años en Grandes Ligas<br />⚾️ Militó con Toronto y Pittsburgh<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TodosABordo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TodosABordo</a> <a href="https://t.co/Kw37c7IRUS">pic.twitter.com/Kw37c7IRUS</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Piratas de Campeche (@LosPiratasMx) <a href="https://twitter.com/LosPiratasMx/status/1790885128882807190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h2>Logan Warmoth &#8211; INF</h2>
<p>A first-round selection in 2017, Logan Warmoth spent parts of five seasons working his way up the minor league ladder in the Jays organization, reaching triple-A Buffalo in both 2021 and 2022. The Seattle Mariners selected Warmoth in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft during the 2022/2023 offseason and he spent the entire season in double-A, putting forth a .239/.350/.258 slash line.</p>
<p>The middle infielder was a free agent this past winter and signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Returning to double-A, Warmoth owns a .503 OPS with 19 RBIs through 29 games with the Amarillo Sod Poodles.</p>
<h2>Sean Reid-Foley &#8211; RHP</h2>
<p>The right-hander from Florida was a fan favourite on the top prospect list during the 2010s and made his big league debut for the Blue Jays in 2018. Across three seasons with Toronto, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reidfse01.shtml">Sean Reid-Foley</a> split his time between the big leagues and triple-A as he tried to carve a spot out in the rotation, only to become a bullpen arm by 2020. During the 2020/2021 offseason, Reid-Foley would be dealt to the New York Mets as part of the Steven Matz deal.</p>
<p>In early 2022, Reid-Foley underwent Tommy John surgery and missed most of the 2022 season. He rejoined the Mets for the 2023 campaign on a MiLB deal and was selected to the roster on August 23rd. He started the 2024 campaign on the IL with a shoulder impingement but has since rejoined the Mets roster, working out of the bullpen. Through 11 outings and 10 2/3 innings, the right-hander owns a 1.69 ERA with 14 strikeouts compared to seven walks.</p>
<h2>Conner Greene &#8211; RHP</h2>
<p>Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2013, right-hander Conner Greene has played baseball from coast to coast to keep the dream alive, including playing various summer and winter leagues down in Mexico. Greene made 24 big league appearances for the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2021, authoring a 7.11 ERA through 25 1/3 innings.</p>
<p>This season, Greene has signed on with the Houston Astros on a MiLB deal and has been pitching in triple-A. The 29-year-old owns a 5.23 ERA through 20 2/3 innings out of the bullpen with a 1.210 WHIP and a 7.8 K/9.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">98, 98, 99 to K his first big-league batter.</p>
<p>Alrighty then, <a href="https://twitter.com/connergreene?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@connergreene</a> 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/hJlacVrdlW">pic.twitter.com/hJlacVrdlW</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1420197682912628736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h2>T.J. Zeuch &#8211; RHP</h2>
<p>The first draft pick under the Ross Atkins era, right-hander T.J. Zeuch was one of the top college arms on the draft board in 2016. The University of Pittsburgh alum made his big league debut with the Blue Jays a few years later and spent three seasons on the big league squad, posting a 4.59 ERA through 13 outings (seven starts) with a 99 ERA+. In May of 2021, Zeuch would be DFA&#8217;d and traded to the St. Louis Cardinals shortly after.</p>
<p>Stints in St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia followed with the Ohio product spending most of his time in the minor leagues. For the 2024 season, the 28-year-old signed a MiLB deal with the Washington Nationals and is currently pitching out of the Rochester Red Wings bullpen. He owns a 13.50 ERA through six appearances and has allowed 15 earned runs through 10 innings of work.</p>
<h2>Jordan Groshans &#8211; INF</h2>
<p>Drafted alongside teammate Adam Kloffenstein in 2018, infielder Jordan Groshans worked his way up the Blue Jays farm system while dealing with some injuries that kept him off the field in 2019 and 2021 as well as the lost 2020 season due to COVID-19. He advanced to triple-A Buffalo in 2022 before he was dealt to the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline for pitchers Zach Pop and Anthony Bass. Groshans would make his MLB debut shortly after the trade, appearing in 17 games for the Marlins while collecting 16 hits, one home run, and two RBIs to the tune of a .619 OPS.</p>
<p>Groshans is now suiting up for the New York Yankees double-A affiliate after being claimed off waivers this past offseason. Through 31 games split between triple-A and double-A, the right-handed batter owns a .238/.330/.297 slash line with eight RBIs while posting a .627 OPS through 101 at-bats.</p>
<h2>Simeon Woods-Richardson &#8211; RHP</h2>
<p>One of the key prospects in the José Berríos trade back in 2021, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/woodssi01.shtml">Simeon Woods-Richardson&#8217;s</a> tenure with the Blue Jays was short-lived given the cancelled 2020 season. SWR spent the latter half of the 2019 season in advanced-A ball before starting the 2021 campaign in double-A before being traded.</p>
<p>Since joining the Twins, Woods-Richardson has flirted with the big-league roster but has not been able to lock down a rotation spot since the 2022 campaign. This season, the 23-year-old is posting career numbers since last being recalled on April 25th.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Simeon Woods Richardson, K&#39;ing the Side in the 1st. <a href="https://t.co/giTCJvcvFW">pic.twitter.com/giTCJvcvFW</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1787631688031371296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The right-hander owns a 2.97 ERA through six starts and 30 1/3 innings and the lone blemish on his transcript is a five-run affair against the Toronto Blue Jays back on May 11th. He has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his other starts and has 25 strikeouts on record compared to six walks while holding batters to a .633 OPS. With multiple Twins pitchers on the IL, Woods-Richardson is making the most of the opportunity to work out of the Twins rotation.</p>
<h2>Austin Martin &#8211; OF</h2>
<p>In the other half of the Berríos deal, Austin Martin fell to the Blue Jays in the 2020 MLB Draft when they held the fifth overall selection and signed the Vanderbilt alum to a franchise record $7,000,825 bonus. His time in the organization was also short-lived as the Jays&#8217; front office dealt him to Minnesota after just 56 games in double-A New Hampshire where he posted a .807 OPS with 16 RBIs.</p>
<p>Martin has been working his way up the farm system and he was called upon early this season when Royce Lewis landed on the IL after Opening Day. After a brief demotion at the end of April, Martin has spent most of this campaign with the big league squad, working between left and centre field with four innings spent at second base. At the plate, Martin owns a .224/.289/.355 slash line with seven doubles, one home run, and six RBIs while amassing a .644 OPS through 76 at-bats.</p>
<h2>Daniel Norris &#8211; LHP</h2>
<p>Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2011, left-hander Daniel Norris was a fan favourite both on and off the field. He was a top prospect during his rising up the Jays farm system and in the offseason, he chose to live out of a Volkswagon Westfalia van. He made his big league debut for Toronto in 2014 and was a member of the Opening Day roster for the 2015 campaign, although he was optioned to Buffalo after his fifth start.</p>
<p>At the 2015 trade deadline, Norris was part of the package deal that brought David Price to Toronto and the southpaw spent parts of eight seasons with the Tigers, including a second stint in 2022. Since 2021, he has also suited up for Cleveland, Chicago (Cubs), and Milwaukee. Following the 2023 campaign, Norris became a free agent and he has yet to sign with another club. He currently owns a career 4.74 ERA through 215 outings (86 starts).</p>
<h2>Jeff Hoffman &#8211; RHP</h2>
<p>A first-round pick of the 2014 MLB Draft, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/player/jeff-hoffman-656546?stats=career-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2024">Jeff Hoffman</a> fell to the Blue Jays at #9 because of Tommy John surgery that was going to keep him sidelined until the 2015 season. He appeared in 13 games within the organization, split between advanced-A and double-A before being traded to the Colorado Rockies as part of the Troy Tulowitzki package.</p>
<p>With the Rockies, Hoffman struggled to find consistency on the mound and frequently found himself moving between triple-A and the big leagues from 2016 to 2020. Hoffman would be traded to the Cincinnati Reds and spent the 2021 and 2022 campaigns in the NL Central before taking his talents to Philadelphia. Since the 2022 season, Hoffman has been used out of the bullpen and moved away from his starting role.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jeff Hoffman, K&#39;ing the Side. <a href="https://t.co/VRK0KqfRtF">pic.twitter.com/VRK0KqfRtF</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1786568111283474852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>This year, the right-hander has been dominant on the mound &#8211; posting a 0.90 ERA through 20 innings. He has allowed just 12 hits and two earned runs so far this year and has 27 strikeouts on record compared to seven free passes. Hoffman will be a free agent this offseason.</p>

Heading into the 2024 season, the Toronto Blue Jays farm system was not ranking well across numerous sites related to prospect content and analytics. <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/farm-system-rankings">FanGraphs</a> had Toronto ranked at #23 in the league while<a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/farm-system-rankings-2024-preseason"> MLB Pipeline</a> had the Blue Jays at #24, with prospects Ricky Tiedemann, Orelvis Martinez, and Brandon Barriera leading the charge.



The Jays have leveraged some of their prospects in recent years for big leaguers, trading away the likes of Gunnar Hoglund, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Austin Martin, and Jordan Groshans amongst others in an attempt to bolster the big league squad for postseason contention year after year. Those trades have not yielded a playoff win as the front office has used this depth to try to bring a postseason win back to Toronto.

Looking back in the history books, the Blue Jays' draft record under Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro has been spotty at best, finding some gems amongst the group while some top prospects under their guise have not carved out big league roles whether in Toronto or with other clubs across the league. The same goes for former general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who had his own troubles even signing highly drafted players but found a few diamonds in the rough like Danny Jansen and others.

In this article, we will take a quick trip down memory lane to see where some former top prospects are suiting up this season. This won't include every top prospect but there will be some familiar names spanning both under Anthopoulos and Atkins.
<h2>Anthony Alford - OF</h2>
A former third-round pick of the Blue Jays back in 2012, outfielder Anthony Alford is still suiting up at 29 years old. Through four seasons with the Blue Jays, Alford appeared in 46 games and posted a .454 OPS before DFA'd by the Jays in 2020, later being picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Entering the 2024 season, Alford joined the Cincinnati Reds on a MiLB deal after spending the past two campaigns overseas in Korea with the KT Wiz. After 12 games, he was released by the Chattanooga Lookouts and most recently signed with the Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican League.

https://twitter.com/LosPiratasMx/status/1790885128882807190
<h2>Logan Warmoth - INF</h2>
A first-round selection in 2017, Logan Warmoth spent parts of five seasons working his way up the minor league ladder in the Jays organization, reaching triple-A Buffalo in both 2021 and 2022. The Seattle Mariners selected Warmoth in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft during the 2022/2023 offseason and he spent the entire season in double-A, putting forth a .239/.350/.258 slash line.

The middle infielder was a free agent this past winter and signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Returning to double-A, Warmoth owns a .503 OPS with 19 RBIs through 29 games with the Amarillo Sod Poodles.
<h2>Sean Reid-Foley - RHP</h2>
The right-hander from Florida was a fan favourite on the top prospect list during the 2010s and made his big league debut for the Blue Jays in 2018. Across three seasons with Toronto, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reidfse01.shtml">Sean Reid-Foley</a> split his time between the big leagues and triple-A as he tried to carve a spot out in the rotation, only to become a bullpen arm by 2020. During the 2020/2021 offseason, Reid-Foley would be dealt to the New York Mets as part of the Steven Matz deal.

In early 2022, Reid-Foley underwent Tommy John surgery and missed most of the 2022 season. He rejoined the Mets for the 2023 campaign on a MiLB deal and was selected to the roster on August 23rd. He started the 2024 campaign on the IL with a shoulder impingement but has since rejoined the Mets roster, working out of the bullpen. Through 11 outings and 10 2/3 innings, the right-hander owns a 1.69 ERA with 14 strikeouts compared to seven walks.
<h2>Conner Greene - RHP</h2>
Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2013, right-hander Conner Greene has played baseball from coast to coast to keep the dream alive, including playing various summer and winter leagues down in Mexico. Greene made 24 big league appearances for the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2021, authoring a 7.11 ERA through 25 1/3 innings.

This season, Greene has signed on with the Houston Astros on a MiLB deal and has been pitching in triple-A. The 29-year-old owns a 5.23 ERA through 20 2/3 innings out of the bullpen with a 1.210 WHIP and a 7.8 K/9.

https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1420197682912628736
<h2>T.J. Zeuch - RHP</h2>
The first draft pick under the Ross Atkins era, right-hander T.J. Zeuch was one of the top college arms on the draft board in 2016. The University of Pittsburgh alum made his big league debut with the Blue Jays a few years later and spent three seasons on the big league squad, posting a 4.59 ERA through 13 outings (seven starts) with a 99 ERA+. In May of 2021, Zeuch would be DFA'd and traded to the St. Louis Cardinals shortly after.

Stints in St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia followed with the Ohio product spending most of his time in the minor leagues. For the 2024 season, the 28-year-old signed a MiLB deal with the Washington Nationals and is currently pitching out of the Rochester Red Wings bullpen. He owns a 13.50 ERA through six appearances and has allowed 15 earned runs through 10 innings of work.
<h2>Jordan Groshans - INF</h2>
Drafted alongside teammate Adam Kloffenstein in 2018, infielder Jordan Groshans worked his way up the Blue Jays farm system while dealing with some injuries that kept him off the field in 2019 and 2021 as well as the lost 2020 season due to COVID-19. He advanced to triple-A Buffalo in 2022 before he was dealt to the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline for pitchers Zach Pop and Anthony Bass. Groshans would make his MLB debut shortly after the trade, appearing in 17 games for the Marlins while collecting 16 hits, one home run, and two RBIs to the tune of a .619 OPS.

Groshans is now suiting up for the New York Yankees double-A affiliate after being claimed off waivers this past offseason. Through 31 games split between triple-A and double-A, the right-handed batter owns a .238/.330/.297 slash line with eight RBIs while posting a .627 OPS through 101 at-bats.
<h2>Simeon Woods-Richardson - RHP</h2>
One of the key prospects in the José Berríos trade back in 2021, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/woodssi01.shtml">Simeon Woods-Richardson's</a> tenure with the Blue Jays was short-lived given the cancelled 2020 season. SWR spent the latter half of the 2019 season in advanced-A ball before starting the 2021 campaign in double-A before being traded.

Since joining the Twins, Woods-Richardson has flirted with the big-league roster but has not been able to lock down a rotation spot since the 2022 campaign. This season, the 23-year-old is posting career numbers since last being recalled on April 25th.

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1787631688031371296

The right-hander owns a 2.97 ERA through six starts and 30 1/3 innings and the lone blemish on his transcript is a five-run affair against the Toronto Blue Jays back on May 11th. He has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his other starts and has 25 strikeouts on record compared to six walks while holding batters to a .633 OPS. With multiple Twins pitchers on the IL, Woods-Richardson is making the most of the opportunity to work out of the Twins rotation.
<h2>Austin Martin - OF</h2>
In the other half of the Berríos deal, Austin Martin fell to the Blue Jays in the 2020 MLB Draft when they held the fifth overall selection and signed the Vanderbilt alum to a franchise record $7,000,825 bonus. His time in the organization was also short-lived as the Jays' front office dealt him to Minnesota after just 56 games in double-A New Hampshire where he posted a .807 OPS with 16 RBIs.

Martin has been working his way up the farm system and he was called upon early this season when Royce Lewis landed on the IL after Opening Day. After a brief demotion at the end of April, Martin has spent most of this campaign with the big league squad, working between left and centre field with four innings spent at second base. At the plate, Martin owns a .224/.289/.355 slash line with seven doubles, one home run, and six RBIs while amassing a .644 OPS through 76 at-bats.
<h2>Daniel Norris - LHP</h2>
Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2011, left-hander Daniel Norris was a fan favourite both on and off the field. He was a top prospect during his rising up the Jays farm system and in the offseason, he chose to live out of a Volkswagon Westfalia van. He made his big league debut for Toronto in 2014 and was a member of the Opening Day roster for the 2015 campaign, although he was optioned to Buffalo after his fifth start.

At the 2015 trade deadline, Norris was part of the package deal that brought David Price to Toronto and the southpaw spent parts of eight seasons with the Tigers, including a second stint in 2022. Since 2021, he has also suited up for Cleveland, Chicago (Cubs), and Milwaukee. Following the 2023 campaign, Norris became a free agent and he has yet to sign with another club. He currently owns a career 4.74 ERA through 215 outings (86 starts).
<h2>Jeff Hoffman - RHP</h2>
A first-round pick of the 2014 MLB Draft, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/player/jeff-hoffman-656546?stats=career-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2024">Jeff Hoffman</a> fell to the Blue Jays at #9 because of Tommy John surgery that was going to keep him sidelined until the 2015 season. He appeared in 13 games within the organization, split between advanced-A and double-A before being traded to the Colorado Rockies as part of the Troy Tulowitzki package.

With the Rockies, Hoffman struggled to find consistency on the mound and frequently found himself moving between triple-A and the big leagues from 2016 to 2020. Hoffman would be traded to the Cincinnati Reds and spent the 2021 and 2022 campaigns in the NL Central before taking his talents to Philadelphia. Since the 2022 season, Hoffman has been used out of the bullpen and moved away from his starting role.

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1786568111283474852

This year, the right-hander has been dominant on the mound - posting a 0.90 ERA through 20 innings. He has allowed just 12 hits and two earned runs so far this year and has 27 strikeouts on record compared to seven free passes. Hoffman will be a free agent this offseason.

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